Unlocking Value of Starwood Points with SPG Moments

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For the longest time, I’ve been focused on using my SPG points towards Cash & Points stays at SPG hotels or transferring them to airlines to get the 25% bonus. I’ve heard about SPG Moments, but I’ve never been too tempted to redeem points for these exclusive experiences. That all changed recently. I was able to unlock the value of SPG Moments for a cheap price for tremendous value. Read below to see what I bought.

What are SPG Moments?

SPG Moments are an alternative way to spend your SPG points that aren’t tied to a hotel reservation or a transfer to an airline partner.

When you earn rewards with airlines and hotels, they have to keep a tab of this liability on their financials. The bigger your balance, the larger their debt.

So, hotels are being creative with ways to encourage you to use your rewards even when you’re not traveling.

SPG Moments Exclusive Events

There are so many choices of SPG Moments exclusive events. There are tickets to sporting events, plays & musicals, and so much more. You can search by type of event or location to narrow down the choices.

Pro Tip: Have an upcoming vacation? Search that city for events before you go

Here’s a sample of some current events that are available:

Luxury Suite for Sam Smith at the O2 in London

Dinner and midnight visit inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

3 days at Coachella with luxury accommodations inside a yurt by W Hotel Hollywood

Cook with Michelin Star Chef Daniel Boloud and dinner at DANIEL in New York

Luxury Suite at Staples Center while Lakers host the Timberwolves

As you can see, there are a wide variety of events available through SPG Moments. Culinary, music, culture, festivals, and sporting events are all available for you to buy or bid on.

How much do SPG Moments cost?

There are two types of SPG Moments, the ones you can buy and those you can bid on. The prices will vary depending upon whether it is for purchase or for bid, and how popular the event is.

You can search for fixed price or auction events, within a certain date range, by region or city, keyword, or even by point range. Or you can just scroll through all of their options to see what is available.

What an amazing experience! If you have the points, use them for something that means the world to you. Especially if it is something that money cannot buy!

Buying SPG Moments

When you buy an SPG Moment, just like an eBay auction, the prize is yours once you click purchase.

I’ve had my eye on some Lakers’ tickets for awhile now. Life got in the way and I wasn’t able to attend earlier this season. The NBA basketball season is coming to an end, so I did a search and purchased 2 tickets in the SPG Luxury Suite at Staples Center for only 10,000 SPG points.

Bidding on SPG Moments

When you bid on SPG Moments, the auction is very similar to other auction sites. There is a minimum number of points to bid on any item. And there is no cap to how high the bidding can go.

The only limiter is that there is a defined period of time for the auction. However, if someone bids at the last minute, the time is extended a little bit so that people can’t just swoop in at the last minute to snag it from underneath your nose.

Restrictions on SPG Moments

There are a few restrictions that you need to keep in mind, but they are pretty basic.

You cannot resell the SPG Moment you purchased or won. A lot of us resell items we buy to cash in on points or hit minimum spends, but you cannot do so here.

If you need to change the name on the tickets/experience, you can do so with a simple email. Some people buy SPG Moments as gifts. While others have something come up with work, family, or medical and cannot attend, so they want to give the tickets to a friend so the experience doesn’t go to waste.

The Bald Thoughts

If you have SPG points, don’t ignore your options. When you search for SPG Moments you may find something that is truly more valuable to you than another hotel stay. I redeemed 10,000 SPG points for two tickets to a luxury suite at a Los Angeles Lakers’ game for me and one of my closest friends. He’s a die-hard Lakers’ fan and I love a good deal. Talk about a winning combination! Let’s go Lakers!!!

Lee grew up loving to travel with his parents. Now he explores the world with his wife, Anna and his two children Timothy and Scarlett. He enjoys being spoiled as a Kimpton Inner Circle Member and taking full advantage of Southwest's Companion Pass. Lee wants to teach his readers how to 'Travel More. Spend Less. Live Better.' using miles, points, tips and tricks.